Proteomic Characterization of Exosomes from HIV-1-Infected Cells

Proteomics has increasingly become an invaluable tool to characterize proteomes from various subcellular compartments. Here, we describe a quantitative proteomics method using the technique of Stable Isotope Labeling by Amino acids in Cell culture (SILAC) to analyze the effects of HIV infection on host exosomal proteomes. The procedure, described below, involves differential isotope labeling of cells, exosome purification, mass spectrometric quantification, and various bioinformatic analyses/verifications. Although this chapter focuses on analyzing the effects of HIV-1 infection on the exosomal proteome, the protocol can easily be adapted to other subcellular compartments under different stress conditions.